“The zombie frenzy is growing, and it has cast its shuffling shadow on nature, mathematics, biology, and survival. So what can these shambling monsters teach us?” (Seifert 62) Before one can talk about zombies, one must first understand what a zombie is. The Oxford English Dictionary is known to be the most comprehensive dictionary in existence, its definition for the word ‘zombie’ may not be up to date anymore. In the dictionary, it describes a zombie as one of the Vodou zombies from Africa and Haiti and not any of the un-dead creatures seen today. Informally, zombies nowadays are described as a very aggressive, reanimated human corpse that is driven by a biological sickness or infection (Mogk 5-6). The effects these informal zombies have on people are starting to show in recent generations from young children up to grown adults. Whether these changes are for the better or not remains to be unseen but to prevent these changes to worsen, the portrayal of zombies in media should be changed to positively affect current generations.
Before the zombies of modern media, other countries already had their own cultures including zombies. To begin, in Tibet, there were two kinds of zombies in Ancient Tibet, the tantric ro-langs and the demonic ro-langs. The tantric ro-langs of Tibetan tradition is believed to be a human corpse that is resurrected by a necromancer for his own personal needs. The second type of ro-langs is the demonic ro-langs. The name is given to this creature because the ro-langs is created with demonic power or possession. One of its main goals is to turn other beings into ro-langs (Wylie 69 and 72).
Aside from these types, Tibetan Oral traditions states that there are five classes of ro-langs. The first, ...
... middle of paper ...
...a reflect the beliefs of the era they come from, such as the ro-langs, the Vodou zombie of Haiti, and the modern zombies of today. Aside from zombies reflecting the beliefs of the era, they also have the ability to change the way people think and how they lived their lives. To some cultures, the zombie isn’t just a thought, but something that can truly hurt them. As said above, zombies now have influence over society and the using them properly can positively affect the way people think. They can broaden the mind and can teach society about diversity. In the end of it all, “despite being so terrifying, or perhaps because of it, zombies have become a useful communication tool. The argument is that most disasters, from an earthquake to a brain eating army of the un-dead, require the same tools—an escape plan, the need for calm and plenty of supplies.” (Seifert 68)
Victor Harplin’s black and white film, White Zombie, and W.B Seabrook’s short story, “Dead Men Working in the Cane Fields”, both were produced in the early twentieth century and were among the first works to capture the nature of the zombie. The zombie being a unique monster, it originated in the folkloric and ritual practices of the New World, specifically in the Republic of Haiti (The Sub-Subaltern Monster). They both centralize around Zombies, however they do differ in the way that they are portrayed. Both were set in Haiti where the zombie originated. Also around this time the U.S. occupied Haiti and American businesses were moving to the island. America was going through serious social change in this time as well. Both women and African Americans were trying to get more rights. Women were also acting more provocative and doing things that would have been seen as inappropriate at the time. The social mold was being shattered. America was in a boom period with big business and new technological innovations. Also both the story and the film relate closely to Cohen’s first thesis. These two literary works have similarities and differences to them, however both tend to play on social and political differences of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
Max Brooks explains in his article ‘’The Movies That Rose From The Grave’’ [2006], that zombies and the supernatural forces have impacted and have become popular in the world today. The first main idea that Brooks points out is the way society has changed the meaning and glimpse for the supernatural creatures like zombies causing them to become increasingly popular. To support this zombie movies have changed from darkness and mystery to violent and bloodier scenes therefore making them more prevailing. The second main idea that is discussed by Brooks is how the media has helped to increase the popularity of zombies, vampires, ghosts. Highlighted by the author particularity both ‘’resident evil,
Torie Boschs “First eat all the lawyers” appeared in Slate october 2011. Her piece was to reach out to horror fans and to explain to them why zombies are a great monsters in current media. Zombie fanatics who read this short essay will love her vast knowledge of zombies while others who still do not understand why zombies are horribly terrifying can get behind her argument. Bosch explains that the current zombie craze has to do with our current society and how white-collar workers would be left defenceless in a world over run with a rampant horde of zombies. While blue-collar workers can flourish in this current state as they have more skills suited for survival.
James Parker essay “Our Zombies, Ourselves,” informs readers that the zombie has almost outranked the vampire, and why they’re so popular. This undead monster originated from a Caribbean folk nightmare and was adapted over time by, the Halperin brothers, William Seabrook and George Romero and numerous others. Much like the vampire, zombies owe their fame to the progressiveness of technology, allowing them to consistently invade various media forms. The zombie has infested countless tv shows, movies, video games, and books, throughout the 21st century. Zombies themselves are soulless corpses who were regurgitated back into the world of the living. This making them rejects from the underworld, this presents the zombie as rejected yet inexpungable. What makes the zombie so popular, however, is that symbolizes everything that is rejected by humanity. “Much can be made of him, because he makes so little of himself. He comes back, He comes back, feebly but unstoppably” (Parker). The zombie represents humanity itself as well as what is rejected by humanity. Much like individuals today, the zombie is burdened by life’s demands, converting to nothing but a rotting, groaning human shell that stumbles through life without a purpose. The zombie is symbolizer of the real world, and all things irrepressible, whereas the vampire is a symbol of an alternate world and all things
As said in the previous discussion regarding the second chapter of Better Off Dead: The Evolution of the Zombie as Post-Human, zombies and their culture are examined and broke down in order to understand their motives for the progression of zombies globally. Through different perspectives from individuals based around the world, the discussion of the zombie culture debates over the idea that zombies have not just evolved within the narratives that have brought them to life, but they have evolved in such a way that ultimately transforms the narrative itself. However, in this specific chapter, “They are not men…they are dead bodies!”: From Cannibal to Zombie and Back Again, Chera Kee breaks down the introduction of zombies into mainstream consciousness,
The pages of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury were to show a plausible disaster in America, even though the events never happened; it could still come true to an extent. We can see why Mr. Bradbury made such a novel as to bring the idea of what could happen to our minds. If we stray from the knowledge seeking ways we contain in our society, we would and still might find the tides of conformity flush away our humanity. We do strive to keep this disastrous dystopia only created in our dreaded thoughts and ideas. If such a change occurred here, we would address the situation as a hazard of a great form, a situation that makes us into a type of zombie. Yes, some kind of zombie, they might be as the undead community as to always keep a fake smile. Yet, we cannot help but wonder; what makes a zombie? Is it the need for basic brain activity involvement every minute of their shallow lives? Possibly, the hidden depression that weighs their legs down gives them the sight of zombie drags? We could speculate that maybe these zombies of Fahrenheit 451 just look hungrily for love! Always to be dissatisfied by the quick and sudden luxuries. Zombies are the end to the survival of the majority population in humanity; this is why seeing Millie, firemen, and the city as zombies is okay, they prove the former statement through their actions of conformity. To understand and solve these questions and statements we will dive into the meanings of conformity and individuality, how Montag the protagonist of this novel sees the world, and we will chose in our own minds through this information the evils and goods between conformed life and independent persons.
Zombies have become very popular due to their depictions of being easy to kill and being communal. Zombie apocalypses are also very relatable due to the fact that they are set in lives similar to our society and seem easy to overcome. Zombies, themselves, can be identified with because we see ourselves when we look at a zombie. Zombies drudge on through the same task of finding human flesh to consume every day just like we drag ourselves to either class or our job in order to sit through another boring lecture or perform the same menial task every day. Just like the zombie, R, in the book, Warm Bodies, said, “I am Dead, but it’s not so bad. I’ve learned to live with it,” we have learned to succumb to our daily routines and just live with
How many times have you been scared awake by zombies after watching shows or reading comics? Zombies, a particular group of survival horror, are basically dead people who come back to us in an evil way. From novels to Hollywood films, we look like cowards who are repeatedly scared by zombies. How can we still get shocks in this age of scientific society? The answer is that zombies come back with cultural messages in stories, which express our extraordinary fears. Such a horrible story was created by Kirkman, in The Walking Dead he depicted zombies as a horrible metaphor for xenophobia by combining fear of otherness with infectious disease; as a result, fear of contagion fuses with our fear of outsiders, increasing the unequal treatment of immigrants in contemporary society.
The zombie race is very different. It doesn't not have many abilities and is not advanced like humans. Their behavior patterns are different. They cannot stand cold or winter weather. Their behavior is very different and difficult to calculate. They usually stand around lingering and waiting to attack when they hear something. They follow noises.Some abilities that they do have is that they have excellent hearing and can walk but aren't blind.The also can smell human blood. Zombies are generally weak but don’t underestimate what they can do to a human.
Today in America, people can’t get enough of zombies, zombies are everywhere ranging from movies, books and tv shows. The entertainment business uses the zombie apocalypse theme in order to present a post apocalyptic situation that no other form of genre can really create. In American zombie apocalyptic entertainment, humans must face the horrors of survival and change, while fighting off the zombies, thus also challenging their morals. Pessimistic viewers may see the situation as depressing, prejudice and an means of expressing xenophobia. However optimistic viewers see the situation as an opportunity for better change, individually and as a collective community. A controversial example of this topic would be Robert Kirkman’s popular graphic novel, called The Walking Dead, filled with violence, betrayal and challenges. The Walking Dead can be read as a pessimistic text but the most appropriate way to read is
In the article, “A Zombie Manifesto: The Nonhuman Condition in the Era of Advanced Capitalism” by Sarah Juliet Lauro and Karen Embry, the authors’ evaluate the idea of the zombie and its connection to capitalism and post-humanism. According to the authors, the zombie represents much more than just a fear, it represents a loss of oneself to many different things, primarily to a capitalist society. The authors have come to the conclusion that humans have a fear of what they cannot control, and that is why the zombie is so big in entertainment. We see zombies everywhere, in movies, books, tv shows, fundraisers, marathons, and so much more. They have been around for decades, but recently they have become very popular. The authors believe this is
The idea of a zombie is made up and it comes from nzambi, the Kongo word for the spirit of a dead person. In states such as Louisiana, or the Creole culture they believe zombies represent a person who has dies and brought back to life with no speech. Kings psychological argument on how we have an urge to watch horror movies because it helps to re-establish our feelings and feel natural again. Klusterman’s sociological essay helped us see the comparison of zombies and humans in real life. In conclusion zombies are not real, they are make believe but help bring a sense of normality to
There are many possibilities where a human can be turned into a “zombie”. Disease, disease has been with humans as long as humans have lived on this Earth. When we look throughout history, we can see the evolution of disease. In England during the Middle Ages, the Bubonic Plague is a perfect example. It hit the British pretty hard, taking them absolutely by surprise.
Now a high-school senior, I still remember my freshman year with a shudder; it was the year my friends and I joked about as the "Year of the Zombie." It wasn't that I had contracted a rare medical disorder that transformed me into one of the walking dead. I had done what many diligent students do: sacrifice most of my sleep time for the sake of academic success.
George A. Romero, the director of Night of the Living Dead accidently created the zombie genre that we are familiar with today. Night of the Living Dead reshaped the entire genre with its bitter realism. Romero established verisimilitude unintentionally by focusing on how people react to crisis. The first zombie movies relied on semi-terrifying dress codes (of their time) and the conventional diegetic scream of a female. Whereas Romero’s film is an interpretation of humankind’s collapse. Romero drew inspiration from the infamous Vietnam War spiralling at the time and the American civil war. The verisimilitude lies within the human condition in dire times, like war. Therefore, in the Night of the Living Dead the zombie/ghoul stands as a symbol for the enemy contriving those dire times. This consequently makes the genre actually terrifying because representations have altered. Zombies are no longer an otherworldly or scientific monster e.g. White Zombie but a